Witness Says Manuel Jamines Did Not Have Knife In-Hand When He Was Shot By LAPD Officer

A woman who says she witnessed Sunday's controversial police shooting of 37-year-old Manuel Jamines in Westlake claims that the suspect did not have a knife, as police have stated.

Los Angeles police Chief Charlie Beck told community members at a meeting in Westlake Wednesday night that another witness said she saw the suspect attempt to stab a pregnant woman. Police had previously stated that Jamines allegedly raised the knife over his head right before officers shot him Sunday afternoon at West Sixth Street and South Union Avenue. The man's death-by-cop sparked three days of unrest in the largely immigrant neighborhood.

On Thursday morning LA Weekly received word that a witness would speak before a hastily organized news conference to claim that she saw the shooting and that the man did not have a knife in his hand.

The Los Angeles Times reported the woman, who only wanted to be identified as Ana for fear of retaliation, told reporters that " ... at the moment when the police were shooting, he had nothing" [in his hands].

Her recollection of the shooting -- she was across the street from the clash between the allegedly drunk man and police Sunday -- contradicts not only police accounts but those of other witnesses. She said she gave her version of events to police after the shooting Sunday.